The Washington Capitals announced today they re-signed defenseman Karl Alzner to a two-year deal. According to reports, the 22-year old will make $1.3 million in 2011-12 and $1.27 million in 2012-13, a total of $2.57 for the two-year deal.

If the reports are correct, this is an absolute steal for GM George McPhee and makes us wonder why it took so long for the deal to get hammered out. This is a much-below market deal in terms of length and money, as Alzner could have commanded a three or four year deal on the open market making the total of his reported contact per year.

Per a team release, McPhee said, “We are pleased to have re-signed Karl Alzner to a two-year contract. We feel he’s an important part of our defensive core who logs critical minutes against other teams’ top players.” We'll get more reaction to the re-signing as McPhee and Alzner become available to the media.

More from the team's release:

Alzner, 22, recently completed his first full season in the NHL, playing in all 82 games with the Capitals and posting career highs in goals (two), assists (10), points (12), penalty minutes (24) and plus/minus (+14). His 132 blocked shots were third on the team while his 98 hits were tied for seventh. Alzner was one of just three NHL defenseman aged 22 and younger to play in all 82 regular-season games. In addition, he ranked sixth on the team in average time on ice per game (20:00). The Burnaby, British Columbia, native recorded an assist in nine playoff games and was tied for second on the team with 20 blocked shots.

From 2008 through 2010, Alzner appeared in 103 AHL games with the Hershey Bears, collecting 41 points (seven goals, 34 assists) and a plus-57 rating while helping lead the team to the 2010 Calder Cup championship.

A two-time gold medalist at the IIHF World Junior Championship with Canada, Alzner captained the Canadian team in 2007-08 and was named one of the team’s top three players by the coaching staff. Alzner also represented Canada in the 2007 Canada/Russia Super Series and played for the WHL team in the 2006 Canada-Russia Challenge.

The 6’3”, 206-pound blueliner collected 117 points (19 goals, 98 assists) in 260 games with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League (WHL) from 2004-2008 and was named the WHL Player of the Year and Defenseman of the Year in 2007-08.

Alzner was drafted by Washington in the first round (5th overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.